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<p>Microsoft Corp.'s trusted computing vision inched closer to reality on Wednesday, as an industry group released an updated specification for storing encrypted information.</p> <p>Version 1.2 of the Trusted Computing Group's hardware specification was released at the RSA Conference 2003 Europe in Amsterdam. The group is responsible for overseeing the development of Trusted Platform Modules, small microcontrollers that reside on a PC's hard drive and encrypt data, thus protecting it.</p>

Microsoft will announce on Wednesday that it will offer two $250,000 bounties for information that leads to the arrest of the people who released the MSBlast worm and the SoBig virus, CNET News.com has learned. The two programs attacked computers that run Microsoft's Windows operating system, causing havoc among companies and home users in August and September. The reward, confirmed by sources in both the security industry and in law enforcement, will be announced in a joint press conference with the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and Interpol that's scheduled for 10 a.m. EST Wednesday. The rewards are the first...

All the stupid people. Where do they all come from? By Tim Mullen, SecurityFocus Posted: 03/11/2003 at 15:13 GMT Opinion Microsoft's best chance for regaining the revenue lost to security concerns isn't in eliminating bugs, writes SecurityFocus columnist Tim Mullen. Two years ago I wrote about how security would become critical to the success of Microsoft, and how the challenge of combining "simplicity and security" would represent the highest costs in IT. For what is apparently the first time in Microsoft's financial disclosure history, the company has reported that security issues, or more appropriately insecurity issues, have directly affected their...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A new e-mail virus started spreading to corporate computers Friday and is headed for home computers, but computer security experts said they expect the outbreak to wind down over the weekend. Antivirus software maker Trend Micro said tens of thousands of its corporate computer users in France and Germany had been hit by the virus, dubbed "Mimail.C". The e-mail was spreading quickly because it spoofs e-mail addresses in address books, making it appear as if the virus-carrying e-mail comes from a friend or co-worker, said Raimund Genes, European president of Trend Micro. Trend and Network Associates rated...

LONDON (Reuters) - A new e-mail virus capable of turning infected personal computers into "spamming" machines emerged on Friday targeting corporate and home users in Europe and the United States, a computer security expert said. Anti-virus software makers Trend Micro reported that tens of thousands of its corporate computer users in France and Germany were hit on Friday afternoon by the virus, dubbed "Mimail.C." By 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday, there were reports of infections in the United States too, said Raimund Genes, European president of Trend Micro. The firm had a "medium risk" rating on the bug. "We may...

YAHOO! users being targeted by HACKER. An evil hacker (probably some spammer pissed about having his spam blocked by Yahoo! SpamGuardTM) has developed a new technology which completely fools SpamGuardTM.  Embedded in the messages is a powerful hacker exploit which damages the operating system of the unsuspecting Yahoo! user if they follow any of the links or click on the "unsubscribe me" opt-out link which is required by Minnesota and California laws governing UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email). The hacker has been using it to harass millions of Yahoo! users for months and thereby exacting his terrible revenge on the Yahoo!...

Opinion One of the many hats I wear here in St. Louis is that of college instructor, writes SecurityFocus columnist Scott Granneman. I teach courses in technology at Washington University, recently ranked the ninth best overall college in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, and at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, one of the better community colleges in the area. I teach smart people at both locations. One is composed of folks who can pay the high prices for an education at a nationally-ranked university, and the other has people who work during the day and...

Microsoft launches 'leak-proof' e-mail How the new Office software will look The latest version of Microsoft's popular Office software will, the company claims, allow users to send e-mails that will "self-destruct" after a set time. The development is designed to improve security - and avoid potentially embarrassing messages coming back to haunt senders. Microsoft says users will also be able to restrict who is allowed to read an e-mail - and prevent recipients from forwarding messages to other users or printing them off. The new software - known as Information Rights Management - could potentially be used by governments and...

posted 4:25pm EST Fri Oct 17 2003 - submitted by J. Eric Smith NEWS If you're like millions of other PC and Mac users worldwide, you've discovered the wonderful utility of instant messaging in one form or another. The digital equivalent of the venerable CB radio, instant messaging, or "IM" for short, allows you to instantly converse with another IM subcriber over a corporate network or the Internet, anytime, anywhere, for free. And that's a problem, say legal experts. At the top of the list of problems is the concept of corporate communications. For years companies have been bound by...

Microsoft has come a long way in its understanding of security over the last five years, but comments made last week by its chief executive Steve Ballmer go to show it needs to change not only its approach, but must recognize that it doesn't operate in a vacuum. In particular, his comment that he wishes security researchers would just shut their mouths is a sure sign that Ballmer just doesn't get it. His ambit scenario would see researchers only telling Microsoft about bugs they find. He actually cited the good of the world for his reasoning. At least he didn't...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced five new "critical" flaws in its software and provided patches to fix them in order to prevent hackers from gaining access to personal computers by deploying a malicious program similar to the devastating Blaster worm. The announcement, part of a new initiative by the company to notify computer users of patches on a more regular basis, applies to a wide range of Microsoft software, including its Exchange e-mail server, Windows operating system, instant messaging service and multimedia software for Web browsers. Stephen Toulouse, a security program manager, urged companies and individuals...

Earthlink: Your hard drive may be spying on youEarthLink has a word for all of you spam-hating, pop-up-blasting, virus-fearing brethren -- spyware. And you should be scared, computer users, real scared. Experts say as many as 90 percent of all Internet surfers have picked up one brand or another of this soaring spyware, also known as scumware, skunkware and malware. That proportion seems awfully high, but at least a large majority of Internet-connected computer users harbor one or another of the thousands of spyware varieties. EarthLink has more than a passing interest. Last Wednesday, it added to its Internet software...

<p>Microsoft chief executive Steven A. Ballmer said yesterday that there is "much, much, much" left to do to protect computer users from viruses, worms and other malicious software.</p> <p>He outlined new steps the company plans to take to address this problem -- while acknowledging that these changes can't solve it.</p> <p>"There is no silver bullet," Ballmer said in a speech at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans. "Even if all the vulnerabilities were fixed tomorrow morning in all of the products, there's still 600 million computers . . . that wouldn't have all of these vulnerabilities patched."</p>

(CBS/AP) Electronic privacy advocates and law enforcement are growing more worried by the availability of computer technology known as "snoopware," which could be used by criminals to monitor a person's computer usage. The devices in question could allow someone to use the Internet to see the screen you see, log your keystrokes and even activate your computer's Webcam, The New York Times reports. That means someone you don't know could find out what you last typed and see what you are wearing today. "Anybody who routinely uses a computer that isn't their own ought to be thinking, 'Who's looking over...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Reuters) - Her name is Susie. Her profile on Yahoo says she's a student in Australia, "single and looking." The problem is what she's looking for. If her profile is to be believed, Susie is just 13, yet she has been found freely surfing "adult" Yahoo chat rooms where, in some cases, the topics are often too twisted to list in a family publication.I worry about kids like her. I'll bet her parents don't know what she's up to.Keeping an eye on children as they surf the Internet has always been a challenge. Savvy kids know how to...

Trojan uses MS hole to hijack Web browsers Program changes DNS so that requests for popular sites bring visitors to one maintained by hacker instead By Paul Roberts, IDG News Service October 02, 2003 Computer hackers have found another way to exploit an unpatched hole in Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer Web browser, using a specially designed attack Web site to install a Trojan horse program on vulnerable Windows machines. The Trojan program changes the DNS (Domain Name System) configuration on the Windows machine so that requests for popular Web search engines like www.google.com and www.altavista.com bring the Web surfer to...

A unexplained rise in domain name server-related traffic worldwide may be related to a Trojan on the loose, says the antivirus firm Symantec's security service has been placed on alert in response to a substantial jump in domain name server-related activity across the globe. The computer-security specialist has stepped-up efforts to monitor network ports associated with domain name servers. Vincent Weafer, senior director of US-based Symantec Security Response, said the company's DeepSight firewall sensors had begun reporting an unusually large volume of networks events commonly associated with DNS-activity. It appears that some of Symantec's concern has been driven by the...

Microsoft faces a proposed class-action lawsuit in California based on the claim that market dominance and vulnerability to viruses in its software could lead to "massive, cascading failures" in global computer networks. Get Up to Speed on...Enterprise securityGet the latest headlines andcompany-specific news in ourexpanded GUTS section. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, also claims that Microsoft's security warnings are too complex to be understood by the general public and serve instead to tip off "fast-moving" hackers on how to exploit flaws in its operating system. The suit claims unfair competition and the violation of two California...

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The head of an Internet security company that claimed to have found dangerous loopholes in U.S. military computers has been indicted on charges of hacking government networks for financial gain. Brett Edward O'Keefe, 36, was arrested and indicted Monday on six counts of conspiracy to access military, government and private computers, said U.S. Attorney Carol Lam. O'Keefe was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in federal court. The indictment accuses O'Keefe of sharing military files with news media to generate favorable publicity for his San Diego company, ForensicTec Solutions Inc. O'Keefe allegedly had unauthorized possession of files...

Unsolicited e-mails with the subject line, "What does your Lover do on the Internet?" have been circulating recently, offering an $89 software program called LoverSpy. Computer experts warn the spyware program is for real and poses a serious threat to Internet security. "Spy on Anyone by sending them an E-Greeting Card!" reads the spam. However, unlike the many weight loss and organ enlargement ads or requests for assistance from the widows of deposed foreign dictators, this latest cyber mass mailing may actually be telling the truth. "It actually does what's advertised," said Mike Cermak the owner of TechSupportGuy.com in an...